Preamble
We are the people who build and maintain the nation but rarely enjoy the
fruits of our labor.
We are the employed and the unemployed.
We are the people who make the country run but have little say in running
the country.
We come together to create this Labor Party to defend our interests and
aspirations from the greed of multinational corporate interests. Decades
of concessions to corporations by both political parties have not produced
the full employment economy we have been promised. Instead income and wealth
disparities have widened to shameful extents.
We offer an alternative vision of a just society that values working people,
their families and communities.
We, the members of this Labor Party, see ourselves as keepers of the American
Dream of opportunity, fairness, and justice. In our American Dream, we all
have the right:

To
a decent paying job and a decent place to live

To
join a union freely without fear of being fired or other retribution

To
strike without fear of losing our job

Not
to be discriminated against because of our race, gender, ethnicity,
disability, national origin, or sexual orientation, at work or in our
communities

To
free, quality public education for ourselves and our children

To
universal access to publicly-funded, comprehensive, quality health care
for all residents

To
retire at a decent standard of living after a lifetime of work

To
quality of life in our communities enhanced by a fully funded public
sector.

The
Democratic and Republican parties serve the corporate interests that finance
them. We oppose corporate power that undermines democratic institutions
and governments. We oppose corporate politicians and parties that provide
billions in corporate tax breaks and subsidies to the rich, selling themselves
to the highest bidder. We reject the false choice of jobs versus environmental
responsibility. We will not be held hostage by corporate polluters who poison
our workplaces and our communities. We reject the redistribution of billions
of dollars of wealth from poor and working people to the rich. And we reject
every opportunist who plays the race, gender, or immigrant card to keep
us from addressing our real needs, and the needs of our families and communities.

Our Labor Party understands that our struggle for democracy pits us against
a corporate elite that will fight hard to retain its powers and privileges.
This is the struggle of our generation. The future of our children and their
children hangs in the balance. It is a struggle we cannot afford to lose.

1 Amend the Constitution to Guarantee Everyone a Job
at a Living Wage
Corporate America is systematically destroying millions of decent paying
jobs for working people. At the same time, the rich and the powerful are
leading an assault on the public sector and demanding cutbacks in government
jobs that provide services for us all. As a result, there are not enough
good jobs to go around and our public services are crumbling. Nearly one
in four workers are either unemployed, involuntarily working part-time,
or are working full-time at poverty-level wages. Since World War II, the
government has been committed on paper to a full employment economy. But
Corporate America and its army of pliable politicians have made a mockery
of that idea. In the name of creating jobs they give the rich and powerful
more tax breaks, more subsidies, and less government regulation. But trickle-down
economics doesn't work for us. It only works for them. The more subsidies
and tax breaks for corporations the politicians give away, the more jobs
that are destroyed through mergers, runaway investments, automation, and
subcontracting. These give-aways and concessions must stop. First and foremost
everyone, both in the private and public sectors, needs a guarantee of a
right to a job at a living wage — one that pays above poverty-level wages
and is indexed to inflation. And in today's world that comes to a minimum
of about $10 an hour. We want this right written directly into the U.S.
Constitution. The Declaration of Independence affirmed our right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Preamble to the Constitution
promised "to establish Justice,... promote the General Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity." But for working
people all this means nothing if we don't have the right to a job.

2 Pay Laid-off Workers Two Months Severance for Every
Year of Service
Every time a corporation lays off workers the value of its stock rises and
its executive officers reap rich rewards. Meanwhile laid-off workers and
their communities pay the price. On average, workers lose over $100,000
of their lifetime earnings when they are laid off. In addition, numerous
studies show that unemployed workers and their families experience increased
rates of disease and social problems like suicide and domestic violence.
Communities also suffer from the declining incomes and increasing social
problems caused by layoffs. This burden on our communities averages about
$25,000 per laid-off worker. Nothing will change until Corporate America
is forced to pay for some of the damage it causes. We therefore propose
a Job Destruction Penalty Act modeled after the one proposed by the New
Jersey Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO (which covers all workers except
those in hiring hall types of employment). Under the Act corporations with
100 or more employees globally will be required to pay each eligible laid-off
worker two months severance pay for every year of service. And they will
be required to pay $25,000 per eligible laid-off worker to the local community
to offset rising social costs. This Job Destruction Penalty Act will make
Corporate America think twice about layoffs.

3 Restore Workers Rights to Organize, Bargain and Strike
The right to organize unions, bargain freely and strike when necessary is
being destroyed by employers and their representatives in government. Today,
nearly 1 out of 10 workers involved in union organizing drives is illegally
fired by employers who wage a campaign of fear, threats and slick propaganda
to keep workers from exercising a genuinely free choice. That is why union
membership is declining. And as union membership falls so do the wages of
all working people, union and non-union alike. (The buying power of the
average worker's wage has declined by 15 percent over the last 25 years.)
As a Labor Party, we will support the courageous efforts of our brothers
and sisters out in the streets and in the fields all over this nation to
overcome these legal handicaps, especially in the South and Southwest where
the laws are most hostile. We also must dedicate ourselves to fighting for
a complete overhaul of this country's labor laws. All scabbing must be banned
and no workers should be fired without just cause. We must win repeal of
the anti-worker Taft-Hartley Amendments, which sharply tilted the labor
law in favor of employers. We want card-check recognition of union bargaining
status, as in Canada. New union members must have the right to submit a
first contract to binding arbitration at the request of the union. All employees
of federal, state and local governments must have full collective bargaining
rights; they must enjoy full participation in the political process (i.e.
partial repeal of the Hatch Act); and the FLRA and all applicable state
laws must be amended accordingly. Agricultural and other excluded workers
must be covered by federal labor laws, except where existing state laws
offer more protection. We oppose all attempts to legalize company unions
and to repeal or weaken the Davis-Bacon Act or Section 13c of the Federal
Urban Mass Transit Act of 1964. Railway unions must be able to exercise
their rights to bargain and to strike without government interference. The
right of other unions must be similarly protected. We demand a law requiring
employers who purchase or merge with other companies to honor all existing
collective bargaining agreements and contracts. While we support rehabilitation
and the learning of skills, we oppose all use of prison labor for the production
of goods and services.

4 End Bigotry: An Injury to One Is an Injury to All
For generations, bosses have profited by dividing working people on the
basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, and political beliefs.
Rather than creating enough jobs, they force us to fight among ourselves
for the few good ones that remain. Rather than creating enough opportunities
for higher education, they force us and our children to quarrel over the
available spots. We can curb corporate power only if we unite around a commission
of economic justice and fairness. Real democracy includes all of us. We
work in all kinds of occupations, and come from all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
We are women as well as men. Every time an employer pays a woman less for
the same or comparable work, we are all paid less. Every time a minority
worker is denied a decent job or promotion, we are all denied promotion.
When immigrants are scapegoated and denied full labor rights and civil rights,
we are all scapegoated and denied our rights. We favor full rights for all,
and we will tolerate no discrimination or other form of injustice based
on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, disability, national origin, age,
creed, sexual orientation, language, or political beliefs. We favor amending
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect all these categories
from discrimination. We oppose all forms of terrorism and hate crimes, including
attacks against African American churches, synagogues, or other places of
worship. We also oppose police brutality and other forms of the criminalization
of dissent and poverty. We support affirmative action and anti-discrimination
programs to take away the bosses' power to divide and conquer. We support
an immigration policy that does not discriminate on any basis; and a trade
policy that supports international fair labor standards and works to alleviate
the conditions that send people moving around the globe in search of opportunity.
We also support comparable worth initiatives and strong sanctions against
sexual harassment to make the workplace safe and fair for women workers.
This Labor Party stands against current efforts to dismantle these programs.
From the shop floor to the executive suite, we believe the workforce should
reflect the wonderfully diverse face of our nation. We stand for justice
and the end to discrimination.

5 Guarantee Universal Access to Quality Health Care
Health care is the most profitable industry in the nation and it is the
most shameless example of unbridled corporate greed in the U.S. In the guise
of cost-containment, it redistributes resources from sick people and their
caregivers to wealthy businessmen and shareholders. Forty-two million Americans
have no health insurance. Eighty percent of the uninsured are working people
and their dependents. And tying health care coverage to the job encourages
companies to use part-time and temporary workers to evade providing benefits.
We spend more on health care than any other nation in the world. But a poorly
regulated, corporate-dominated health care system eliminates choice, erodes
care, and inflates administrative costs while boosting profits and CEO compensation.
Health care is a critical social good that demands collective interests
prevail over private gain. We call for: Universal entitlement for all residents
to comprehensive health care benefits including preventive, curative, rehabilitative
and long-term care. There must be freedom to choose one's own doctors and
health professionals, and full information provided to enable all to make
informed choices on their medical treatment. Single-payer health insurance,
publicly administered and funded, delivered by a non-profit system. Full
funding of public health programs performed by the public sector to provide
services to vulnerable populations, monitor population disease trends, and
to prevent and treat communicable diseases. Funding for research that serves
the public good, not private gain. Academic health centers must have support
for their research mission. Unimpeded access to a full range of family planning
and reproductive services for men and women, including the right to continue
or terminate a pregnancy. We oppose any forms of coerced sterilization.
Strong representation and a decision-making role for health care recipients
and health care workers in public planning and oversight bodies. Read more
about the Labor
Party's health care campaign

6 More Time for Family and Community
A 32-Hour, 4-day Work Week
Double-time Minimum for All Overtime
An Hour Off with Pay for Every two Hours of Overtime
20 Mandatory Paid Vacation Days for All
One Year Paid Leave for Every Seven Years of Work
Each year we become more and more productive at work. In a fair and just
economy, increased productivity should allow us to work fewer hours, not
more. Yet compared to the late 1960s, we are now working an average of more
than one extra month annually. We work longer hours and have less vacation
time than almost all workers in the industrialized world. While many of
us cannot find work, factory overtime is now at record levels because it
is more profitable to pay overtime than it is to hire new workers. Enough
is enough. We call for amending the federal labor laws to: Define the normal
work week to 32 hours without loss of pay or benefits Provide a minimum
of double-time pay for all hours worked over 32 hours a week and 8 hours
a day Forbid compulsory overtime Mandate one hour off with pay for every
two hours of overtime Require twenty days paid vacation for all workers
in addition to the federal holidays Provide one year of paid educational
leave for every seven years worked. Taken together these proposals will
create millions of new jobs and allow us free time we need to care for our
families and to participate in our communities. More family time and more
community participation should be the fruit of increased labor productivity.

7 Protect Our Families
Paid Family Leave
Flexible Working Schedules
Affordable Child and Elder Care for All
Mandatory Minimum Pensions for All
Guaranteed Adequate Annual Income for All
While politicians babble about family values, this Labor Party intends to
do something real to protect our families. We call for a basic benefit package
that covers all working people — full-time and part-time workers, employed
and unemployed. This package would include: Twelve weeks paid family leave
for each newborn or adopted child, and for taking care of ill family members.
A guarantee of flexible working schedules so that we can arrange our own
time to deal with personal and family concerns. Mandatory minimum pensions
for all workers, fully vested and portable, that do not reduce social security
benefits. Subsidized, high quality child care and elder care for all who
need it. A guaranteed adequate annual income for all, with a yearly cost
of living allowance increase, which will bring both families and individuals
up and out of poverty. Such benefits already exist in most European countries.
But they are under attack by corporations that want benefits pushed down
to the lower levels that exist in the U.S. We must end this race to the
bottom by bringing our benefits up to more just and humane standards. This
is our program to protect family values.

8 Ensure Everyone Access to Quality Public Education
We are a nation of educational haves and have nots. The rich protect their
children in elite private schools while our children suffer in increasingly
crowded, dangerous, and under-funded public schools. The rich send their
children to the best colleges and universities, while more and more of our
children are denied higher education due to rising tuition costs and deep
cutbacks in our state universities. This two-tiered educational system must
end. We call for a renewed commitment to high quality public education for
all, not voucher systems and other privatization schemes that further reduce
resources for our public schools. We call for: National financing of all
public education (instead of property taxes) so that each child, not just
those of the rich, has the resources necessary for a good learning environment.
National legislation and funds to reduce the student-teacher ratio to 15
to 1 in all public schools. National legislation and funding to extend public
schools for pre-K children starting at age 3 on a voluntary basis. Parent
education at public schools to help parents from all backgrounds learn more
about how to help their children learn at home. Free public university and
technical education of all kinds for everyone who wants it. Each of us should
be able to go to school as far as our abilities can carry us. Like the GI
Bill of Rights, everyone 18 years or over should receive a minimum livable
wage for four years when attending a post-secondary educational institution.
Read more about Free
Higher Education

9 Stop Corporate Abuse of Trade
Multinational corporations and most of their hired politicians claim that
free trade is good for us. But the corporate version of free trade is really
about seeking the cheapest sources of labor and escaping labor and environmental
standards wherever they interfere with profits. We favor free and open trade,
but only if the rights of all workers, both here and abroad, are strongly
protected. Then trade will not only be free, it will also be fair. Trade
is not free or fair if it pits us against workers who get paid pennies a
day, work in horrid conditions, and enjoy no legal rights. Trade is not
free or fair if it makes it easier for corporations to pollute their workers
and the environment. We oppose NAFTA and GATT in their current forms. We
also reject narrowly nationalistic solutions to trade imbalances that scapegoat
our fellow workers in other countries. We believe in trading freely with
all trading partners who adhere to basic minimum labor and environmental
standards. We call for establishing the strongest international labor and
environmental standards that improve conditions for low-wage workers, not
ratchet ours down. We call for worker inspection teams to police these standards.
Such teams of worker representatives from different nations should regularly
visit export-oriented facilities around the world to determine whether minimum
standards are being met. Only products meeting such standards would receive
a "fair trade" seal of approval and be eligible for free and open trade.
And we insist that workers themselves be able to enforce these sanctions,
relying on traditional rights to refuse to handle "unfair" products.

Our Labor Party will actively promote a strategy of international solidarity
and cooperation with labor movements and labor parties in other nations
through the exchange of information, worker organizing, collective bargaining,
and other actions and strategies that demonstrate our commitment to work
together to confront the global attacks on our environment and living and
working conditions. We oppose all policies instituted by corporate-dominated
lending institutions like the World Bank that force developing nations to
lower the wages of their workers. We will especially strive to bring pressure
to bear on those U.S.-based transnational corporations that are violating
labor rights in other nations of the world, and to fight against any U.S.-based
policies that would undermine the rights of workers in other nations to
organize. Finally, we demand that our government stop doing the bidding
of global corporations and stop using military and foreign policy to prop
up anti-labor regimes that violate human rights.

10 End Corporate Welfare as We Know It
Corporate Welfare is a disgrace. Today much of Corporate America is living
on welfare in the form of tax breaks and direct government subsidies. To
divert us from this estimated two hundred billion dollar a year corporate
welfare ripoff, media pundits and corporate politicians aim their fire at
the poor on low-income welfare (which amounts to less than one third of
what corporations take from the treasury.) State governments dole out billions
in "incentives" to lure business from other states or to keep the business
that is already there from going elsewhere. The federal government doles
out billions more in subsidies and tax breaks to corporate special interests.
Meanwhile the corporations return the favor by pouring millions into the
campaign coffers of both parties. This Labor Party opposes all forms of
welfare for corporations and the rich. We support a total end to corporate
tax breaks and subsidies. We call for an end to the war between the states.
To stop the tax concession competition among states and communities, all
corporations should pay a standard community investment tax wherever they
go. We support strong national standards for labor rights and the environment
so that corporations can no longer force states and cities into a brutal
competition for jobs at any cost. That's what we call welfare reform.

11 Make the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share of Taxes
Over the past twenty-five years, while we have suffered a decline in our
standard of living, a staggering amount of wealth has been pumped up into
the hands of a tiny elite. Never before has so much money been diverted
into the hands of so few. From 1983 to 1989 alone the top one percent of
all families increased their wealth by over $1.45 trillion. During the same
period the national debt increased by $1.49 trillion. We need a just and
simplified tax system to reclaim what is rightfully ours. We need to make
the rich pay their fair share. And to ensure that they do, we propose the
following kind of wealth taxes: Higher income tax rates for the rich and
the elimination of all tax loopholes used by the rich Reductions in sales
and personal property taxes that hit working people the hardest A wealth
tax on those with over $2 million in net worth (total assets minus total
debt) A tax on all mergers and acquisitions of over $1 billion, which would
slow down the corporate destruction of jobs through giant mergers A tax
on all stock options valued over $1 million to discourage inflated CEO compensation
A tax on all electronic transfers of funds over $5,000 to and from the US
A tax on savings and loan institutions to pay back the $500 billion S&L
bailout A tax on non-profit institutions and foundations with $100 million
or more in assets A 100 percent tax on that portion of executive salaries
exceeding twenty times the average worker's pay in that corporation. Such
taxes would not only make our tax system fair and just, but it would also
provide this country with the needed funds to provide decent jobs and benefits
for all.

12 Revitalize the Public Sector
The public sector has gotten a bad name because much of what passes for
government today is a way to enrich the wealthy at our expense. Through
government, Corporate America receives its long list of welfare in tax breaks,
subsidies and cost-plus contracts. Even worse, as sales taxes, payroll taxes,
and property taxes on working people have been unfairly increased, many
important public services have been sharply reduced. Corporate-backed politicians
are using the anti-government sentiment they have so carefully engineered
to kill vital programs that many employers have always despised. If corporations
continue to get their way, OSHA will be gutted, our environmental and labor
laws will be worthless, our public health system will be dismantled, and
the safety net and public universities will be only a dim memory. It's time
for working people to put an end to this nonsense.

The Labor Party stands firmly opposed to the privatization and contracting
out of public services presently performed. A government that works for
us would provide critical goods and services that can not, and should not,
be run for profit. Our kind of government would: regulate and limit the
destructive effects of corporate greed implement our program to guarantee
everyone a decent job ensure quality health care for all rebuild our infrastructure
and expand mass transportation continue to provide high quality postal service
clean up and protect our environment help enforce workplace regulations
provide quality education, housing, and child care for all protect our social
security ensure adequate national defense. We can fund all of these programs
with a more equitable tax system that sharply increases taxes on corporations
and the wealthy. Additional funds can be gained by eliminating unnecessary
and wasteful military spending. Let's get government to work for us, not
for the corporations.

13 End Corporate Domination of Elections
The current system of privately financed elections essentially takes away
our right to vote. Today Corporate America and the rich use their vast wealth
to dominate the election process. As a result, politicians put the vested
interests of the rich and powerful ahead of the needs and concerns of their
constituents and the nation as a whole. It is virtually impossible to pass
legislation that protects and empowers working people. Instead we are forced
to watch elected politicians of both parties routinely rob the public treasury
of billions of dollars, giving their rich and powerful donors tax breaks,
subsidies, bail-outs, and regulatory exemptions. We demand an end to this
robbery. We demand a level playing field. We support all efforts to enhance
working people's political power and we oppose all efforts to dismantle
majority black or brown electoral districts. In addition, we support statehood
for the District of Columbia. We also want: A financial cap on what any
candidate can spend on elections. Full public financing of state and national
elections based on the principle of "one person, one vote" and "government
of, by, and for the people." Full and equal public financing and media time
for candidates who have proven popular support, rather than just access
to big contributors. Such funds should be made available only to those candidates
who pledge not to raise and spend any private money whatsoever during the
primary and general election periods. Enacting such a system would encourage
Americans from all walks of life, regardless of their economic means, to
seek public office and save taxpayers billions of dollars of corporate welfare
heaped on the rich and powerful. Such a system would allow all of us a fair
and equal voice in deciding who should represent us and what legislation
should be passed. Such a system — and a Labor Party — would make democracy
a reality.

14 Build A Just Transition Movement to Protect Jobs
and the Environment
This Labor Party affirms its commitment to a clean and safe environment.
We all need clean workplaces, clean air, and clean water. But we also need
our jobs. We reject the false choice of jobs or the environment. We will
not be held hostage by corporate polluters who poison our workplaces and
our communities. We refuse this corporate blackmail. Corporations are not
interested in either saving our jobs or protecting the environment. But
we also know that environmental change is coming. What we produce and how
we produce will change as steps are taken to protect people and the natural
environment from harm. The Labor Party will support taking such steps if
and only if the livelihoods of working people endangered by environmental
change are fully protected. Therefore, the Labor Party calls for the creation
of a new worker-oriented environmental movement — a Just Transition Movement
— that puts forth a fair and just transition program to protect both jobs
and the environment. All workers with jobs endangered by steps taken to
protect the environment are to be made whole and to receive full income
and benefits as they make the difficult transition to alternative work.
The cost of this Just Transition Income Support program will be paid for
by taxes on corporate polluters.

15 Enforce Safety & Health Regulation with Worker Inspectors
The regulation of occupational safety and health hazards is shamefully inadequate,
and the enforcement of the standards we have is woefully neglected. There
are too few safety inspectors to visit all the workplaces that need to be
visited. Thousands of untested new chemicals are introduced into use each
year, exposing millions of workers and the public to unknown hazards. Incidents
take place without adequate investigations being conducted; and, when incidents
are investigated by impartial investigators, their findings are rarely implemented.
The Labor Party must address this important area. In addition to increasing
the number of OSHA inspectors, we need the right to act and to enforce any
and all safety and health regulations. We call for national legislation
to train and deputize workers to be on the job inspectors in each and every
workplace. Such inspectors should be protected against corporate harassment
and discrimination and should be able to do their job without fear of reprisal.
Such inspectors should have the power to shut down hazardous operations
and to enforce the right of every worker to refuse unsafe work. Such inspectors
should have the power to investigate incidents to uncover their root causes
and to force the implementation of their findings. Because we know our work
sites, worker-inspectors would be better able to protect the workforce from
exposure and the community from disaster. Worker-inspectors will save lives.
In addition, we need the following national laws: All chemicals must be
tested for their impacts on human health and the environment before they
are introduced into our workplaces. Working people through their unions
should receive advance notice before new chemicals are introduced into the
workplace and should have the power to block their introduction for safety
reasons.

16 Reclaiming the Workplace: Job Design, Technology
and Skill
Labor has little or no voice in the design or implementation of new technologies.
Instead, giant corporations use technological research, design, and workplace
implementation to maximize their profits at our expense. Corporations control
the design and use of computers and information technologies, as well as
other kinds of mechanization and automation. They also control the design
of work itself, imposing new administrative and computerized control technologies
under such names as "workplace re-engineering." Like previous corporate
methods, workplace re-engineering is based on speed up and de-skilling.
However it poses another danger to our jobs as well. The corporate control
of workplace design destroys jobs. Corporations implement technologies and
designs that make it profitable to replace full-time workers with an army
of temporaries. To fight back we call for the creation of a labor-based,
publicly-funded Technology Democratization Commission, which will work to
ensure that labor plays an important role shaping the development and implementation
of technology.